PM Nepal holds discussions with Norwegian minister

Kathmandu, 21 May: Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal Friday held discussions with visiting Norwegian Minister Erik Solheim at the airport Friday.
Solheim is a frequent visitor to Nepal and has close relationship with Maoists and other communist parties.
He has come to Nepal for the fourth time with just seven days remaining to promulgate a constitution and as Maoists have adopted tough stance to end a prolonged political debate.
“If they [Maoists] want to end the constituent assembly (CA), we don’t have anything to say,” Nepal said after the meeting.
Nepal and the minister discussed the deadlock.
The Maoist central committee that started meeting Friday will decide whether or not to support a bill to extend the CA tenure by one year.
The visiting minister will hold separate discussions with Maoists, Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala and NC Acting President Sushil Koirala.
Nnnn

Special police team starts work [DEVELOPING STORY]

Kathmandu, 21 May: A special team formed by police headquarters Thursday and led by SSP Ramesh Phuyal began investigations Friday to locate Dr Bhaktaman Shrestha who went missing Tuesday.
The team is working with Chitwan as its base.
nnnn


Reforms mooted in criminal justice

Kathmandu, 21 May: A criminal law amendment and reform task force headed by Chief Justice Kalayan Kumar Shrestha has recommended tougher punishment for heinous crimes.
The panel suggested increasing punishment for such crimes to life sentence instead of a 20-year sentence.
The report was submitted to Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal Thursday.
The task force recommended abolition of property confiscation of convicts.
A 30-year sentence has been recommended for secondary serious crimes.
Nnnn

India readies for pressure

Kathmandu, 21 May: The current impasse in Nepal is not a peace process with warring sides, but an effort to make multiparty democracy functional, The Himalayan Times reports from New Delhi.
If the opposing parties cannot resolve the political impasse among themselves shortly, India will push all concerned political leaders to sit together and hammer out a workable solution by early next week.
Unlike the Europeans and the United Nations, India is quietly in touch with all the concerned political leaders, almost on a daily basis, but is not telling them to resign or otherwise, sources said, which has helped the country stay out of the ongoing public and political discourse.
Having reconciled itself to the reality that the constitution-writing process will require some more time, the Indian government will not take sides, but will continue to support President Ram Baran Yadav and the government of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal as the ‘constitutional’ and legitimate government of Nepal.
Nnnn

MEDIA GOOGLE


”It is misfortune for us to have to live in a country where the leadership does not understand how their cynical and egoist behaviour has been affecting the mental health of the population in their everyday lives.”

(Jagannath Lamichane, The Kathmandu Post, 21 May)
nnnn